Could a glass of red wine help you live longer and healthier?

That's what scientists are asking after they found resveratrol, a substance in red wine and the skins of red grapes, seemingly protected rotund rodents from the dangers of obesity.

If what happened to the mice could happen to humans, resveratrol could help people suffering from obesity ward off diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other weight-related illnesses, said Harvard molecular biologist David A. Sinclair.

"We've been looking for something like this for the last 100,000 years, and maybe it's right around the corner - a molecule that could be taken in a single pill to delay the diseases of aging and keep you healthier as you grow old," Sinclair said.

But Sinclair, whose study appears in the online version of Nature, warned that more study is needed on the benefits and safety of resveratrol, which is available over the counter as a nutritional supplement. Very preliminary tests on humans are being conducted, he added.

You would have to drink at least 1,500 bottles of red wine a day or take mega doses of resveratrol supplements to get the same levels he gave to the mice - and you'd probably kill yourself doing so, Sinclair added.

"For now, we counsel patience," wrote Matt Kaeberlein and Peter S. Rabinovitch, researchers at the University of Washington, in an article accompanying the study.

"Just sit back and relax with a glass of red wine. If you must have a Big Mac, fries and apple pie, we may soon know if you should supersize that resveratrol shake."

'Pleasures of gluttony'

In previous studies, resveratrol lengthened the life of everything fruit flies to worms, but the Harvard study is the first involving mammals.

Sinclair and his team focused their research as mice that were a year old, which equals "middle age" in humans. A third of the mice were fed a standard diet, while another third ate "junk food" very high in calories with 60 percent of calories coming from fat.

The final third gorged on unhealthy diets, but also got resveratrol.

A year went by, and the researchers found that both groups of mice that ate junk food got fat. However, those that didn't get resveratrol suffered early signs of diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses. They also died prematurely.

But the resveratrol mice remained healthy and lived as long as the rodents that ate normal diets and stayed svelte. In fact, they added about 10 to 20 human years to their lives, according to the results.

What's more, their hearts and livers looked healthy, key genes looked normal and they retained their activity levels and agility, Sinclair said.

Apparently, resveratrol activated genes in the mice that protected them from the ravages of aging and obesity, he said.

As one researcher put it, "They had all the pleasures of gluttony but paid none of the price."

'More to learn' 

Dr. Richard Hodes, director of the National Institute of Aging, which helped support the study, said people should wait for the results of safety testing. Substances that are safe and beneficial in small doses, like vitamins, sometimes prove to be harmful when taken in high doses, he said.

"There is currently intense interest in identifying interventions that can be applied to improve health and survival, especially as our society ages," Hodes said. "Today's basic science findings are a notable step in this effort,

"At the same time, it should be cautioned that this is a study of male mice, and we still have much to learn about resveratrol's safety and effectiveness in humans."

The project also includes researchers from the federal government's National Institute of Aging.

This article includes information from the Washington Post.

Source: National Institute on Aging
Reference: Nature

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